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Posts Tagged ‘Whitman’

Stone best in the biz

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on February 25, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Whitman College senior Makana Stone has been tabbed as the Northwest Conference women’s basketball Player of the Year. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

She’s been crowned as the belle of the (round)ball.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone has won a ton of honors during a stellar four-year run on the basketball court at Whitman College, but now she’s reached the top of the podium.

The former Wolf ace was named the Northwest Conference Player of the Year Tuesday, honored for leading her team to a league title and the #7 ranking in all of D-III hoops.

Whitman went 15-1 in league action and is 23-2 overall heading into the start of the conference postseason tourney Thursday night.

Stone, a senior, has racked up 398 points, 216 rebounds, 36 assists, 25 steals, and 25 blocks this season, and is shooting 163-304 from the floor and 69-87 at the free throw line.

While this is her first collegiate Player of the Year award, Andre Stone’s lil’ sis was previously named a First-Team All-Conference player as both a sophomore and junior.

She is joined on the 2019-2020 All-Conference First-Team squad by Blues teammate Mady Burdett, as well as Kory Oleson and Molly Danielson of Linfield, Jamie Lange of Puget Sound, and Courtney Carolan of Pacific.

Whitman’s coach, Michelle Ferenz, was honored as Coach of the Year.

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Big rebounds, bigger win

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on February 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

CHS grad Makana Stone became the #2 rebounder in Whitman College women’s basketball history Friday night. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s as close to a sure thing as possible.

Put Whitman College and Linfield College on the floor for a women’s basketball game, and the squad from Walla Walla is going to triumph.

Friday night was more of a great thing for the Blues, as Whitman got 18 points from Coupeville’s Makana Stone and hit its free throws down the stretch to capture a 74-65 win in its regular-season finale.

The former Wolf also hit a major milestone, moving into 2nd place on her school’s career rebounding chart.

The road victory, coming in front of a raucous crowd in McMinnville, Oregon, marked the 26th consecutive time Whitman has beaten its Northwest Conference foe.

The last time Linfield toppled Whitman came way back in 2007.

While keeping their domination of the Wildcats chugging along, the Blues capped a 15-1 tear through the NWC this season, and head into the playoffs at 23-2 overall, with an active 11-game win streak.

Whitman opens the four-team league postseason tourney next Thursday, February 27, when it hosts the #4 school in a loser-out game.

Several teams are still battling for that slot, though Linfield was eliminated from contention with Friday’s loss.

Win in the tourney semifinals, and the Blues host the NWC championship game Feb. 29 against either George Fox or Pacific, with an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III tourney up for grabs.

Wrapping the regular season, Whitman wasn’t flawless, but it was very good when it mattered most.

Stone dropped in eight of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, as the Blues surged to a 12-point lead, before giving a chunk of it back.

Desperate to keep its playoff hopes alive, Linfield carved the lead all the way back to 66-62 with a minute to play, but Whitman never blinked.

Instead, the Blues made the nets jump while all the players were standing still, hitting 8 of 10 free throws across the game’s final 58 seconds to ice the win.

Taylor Chambers (5), Mady Burdett (3), and Kaylie McCracken (2) all converted charity shots to shush the enthusiastic pro-Linfield crowd, capping a fourth quarter in which Whitman hit 14-16 from the line.

The game was close for much of the night, with Whitman clinging to a 17-15 lead after one quarter of play.

With Stone heating up in the second frame, slapping home her team’s first eight points, the Blues stretched the advantage out to 38-29 at the half, before carrying a 52-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

Even saddled with foul trouble, Coupeville’s ace came up big in crunch time, as Stone capped her scoring effort with a dagger of a pull-up jumper.

On the night, the CHS grad finished with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots, tying Burdett for team-high scoring honors.

Lily Gustafson chipped in with 11 points, while McCracken banked home 10 as Whitman put four players into double-digits scoring.

As she heads into her final collegiate playoff run, Stone sits with 398 points, 216 rebounds, 36 assists, 25 steals, and 25 blocks on the season.

She’s shooting 163-304 (53.6%) from the floor and 69-87 (79.3%) from the free throw line.

Already the #5 scorer in Whitman women’s basketball history with 1,325 career points (she’s 18 away from moving into 4th place), Stone is now the #2 rebounder for the program.

She passed Katie Rubenser (824) Friday, and, with 828 rebounds to her credit, trails just Jennifer McClure (902) on the all-time list.

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A milestone here, a win there

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on February 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone is just the fifth Whitman College female hoops star to top 1,300 career points. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They like to live dangerously.

Drawing a rare Tuesday night game on the schedule, the Whitman College women’s basketball team had to go to an extra period, but kept alive its winning streak.

Holding off visiting Whitworth University 77-74 in overtime, thanks to big plays in crunch time by several players, including Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Blues captured their 10th straight W.

Now 14-1 in North Sound Conference play, 22-2 overall, Whitman wraps its regular season Friday with a trip to McMinnville, Oregon to face Linfield College.

After that comes the NWC post-season tourney February 27-29, then a likely trip to the NCAA D-III national championship tournament in March.

Tuesday’s game pitted two teams in very different situations.

Whitman has already clinched the league title and the #1 seed to the four-team postseason tourney, while Whitworth is involved in a four-team battle for the #4 seed.

The first time the Pirates faced the Blues, they hung tough in an 84-79 loss. Tuesday, they took that a step further.

Trailing 64-60 late in the fourth, Whitworth went on a 7-0 run to claim the lead and push the Blues to the edge of defeat.

Playing in front of its home fans, Whitman answered, however, getting two free throws from Mady Burdett and another freebie from Kaelan Shamseldin to knot the game at 67-67.

With both teams unable to score over the final two-minutes-plus of regulation, that gave the fans free basketball, and overtime was a tense five-minute affair.

Whitworth clung to a 71-70 lead when Stone, playing with four fouls (after some questionable calls by refs missing their seeing-eye dogs), showed why she is a favorite to be named league MVP.

First, Coupeville’s ace rolled hard to the hoop, slipping her defender and slapping home a layup to give Whitman a lead it would not relinquish.

Then, standing strong on the other end of the floor as well, Stone rejected a Pirate shot, collecting her third block of the game and keeping Whitworth at bay.

A Lily Gustafson layup, off a superb entry pass from Burdett, staked Whitman to a 73-70 lead and the two squads traded free throws the rest of the way.

The biggest came from Blues guard Taylor Chambers, who calmly knocked down both of her charity shots with just four seconds to play, pushing the lead out to the final margin of 77-74.

Whitworth would have needed a miracle after that, and didn’t get it, as Whitman pulled off a note-perfect final defensive stand.

The wild win capped a back-and-forth game in which neither team could break free.

Whitman used a 7-2 surge to close the first quarter with a 14-11 lead, only to see Whitworth close the gap to 36-34 at the half.

The teams combined to shoot a red-hot 18-23 from the floor in the second frame, with Stone scoring Whitman’s final six points of the half on a variety of silky-smooth jumpers and quicksilver layups.

From there, the Blues regained a slim advantage at 49-46 exiting the third quarter, before Whitworth rallied in the fourth.

Kaylie McCracken came off the bench to lead Whitman with a game-high 20 points, while Stone snagged a game-high 12 rebounds to go with 14 points, three blocks, and an assist.

Burdett banked in 13 and Gustafson netted 11 as the Blues came with a well-balanced attack.

On the season, Stone sits with 380 points, 210 rebounds, 34 assists, 25 steals, and 23 blocks, while shooting 156-293 (53.2%) from the field and 65-83 (78.3%) at the free throw line.

The CHS grad, who has 1,307 career points and counting, became just the fifth Whitman women to top the 1,300-point barrier.

She reached the magic mark on her final bucket of the second quarter.

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Sweet Senior Night for Stone, Blues

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 15, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Eileen and Makana Stone celebrate the good times. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Undisputed, and it feels so good.

Garnering a bit of sweet payback, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad drilled visiting Pacific University 72-46 Saturday afternoon.

The win, coming on Senior Night, is the ninth-straight for the Blues and lifts them to 13-1 in Northwest Conference play, 21-2 overall.

It also gives Whitman sole possession of the league crown, their first since the 2013-2014 season, and the #1 seed for the postseason conference tourney.

The Blues, who were sparked to Saturday’s win by an 18-point, 13-rebound performance from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, have two regular-season games left on the schedule.

They host Whitworth this coming Tuesday, then travel to Linfield Friday, February 21.

Whitman kicks off the four-team NWC tourney Feb. 27, when it hosts the #4 team.

Win there, and it meets the winner of the #2-#3 matchup Feb. 29, also on its home floor at Sherwood Athletic Center in Walla Walla, with the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA D-III championships on the line.

Saturday, Stone was honored along with fellow Blues seniors Lily Gustafson, Katie Stahl, Mady Burdett, and Natalie Whitesel.

Then the five-pack hit the hardwood and raised their record to 89-19 during their time in Walla Walla.

One of the few missteps for Whitman this season came in the first rumble with Pacific back in January, when the Blues squandered a 19-point first-half lead and fell 65-64.

There would be no such shenanigans this time around.

The game was close for a bit, with Pacific hanging around and trailing just 16-10 at the first break and 30-27 at the half.

Then the Blues decided to start mashin’ folks, throwing down a game-busting 22-5 tear in the third, with Stone going for eight points to fuel the explosion.

From there, Whitman coasted home, on its way to another celebration.

While Stone’s 18 and 13 were both game-highs, she got some help from her fellow seniors, with Burdett tossing in 14 points, and Gustafson banking in 12.

On the season, Stone sits with 366 points, 198 rebounds, 33 assists, 25 steals, and 20 blocked shots, while shooting 149-281 (53%) from the field and 65-83 (78.3%) from the free throw line.

The former Wolf ace hit two more career milestones Saturday, as her third rebound of the game was the 800th of her career.

She also played 28 minutes, giving her exactly 2,500 for her collegiate career.

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They’re Stone cold champs

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Makana Stone went for 16 points and 10 rebounds Friday as Whitman clinched at least a share of the league title. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They have a share. Now, they want the whole thing.

Powered by a 16-point, 10-rebound performance Friday from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Whitman College women’s basketball team clinched at least part of the Northwest Conference title for the first time since 2014.

The Blues used a strong second-half surge to bounce visiting George Fox University 70-53, winning their eighth-straight game.

Now 12-1 in league play, 20-2 overall, Whitman sits three games up on George Fox (9-4, 17-5) and Pacific University (9-4, 15-7) with three regular-season games left to play.

One more Blues win and they clinch everything, from sole possession of the league crown, to the #1 seed in the four-team postseason tourney, which decides the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA D-III championships.

Whitman would love to get that win Saturday afternoon, when it hosts Pacific on Senior Night.

The Boxers are the only NWC team to solve the Blues this season, upending them 65-64 in Oregon Jan. 18, after rallying from 19 points down.

Revenge and celebration will be the theme Saturday, as Whitman honors seniors Stone, Mady Burdett, Lily Gustafson, Katie Stahl, and Natalie Whitesel.

Since uniting in Walla Walla, the five-pack has helped the Blues go 88-19, with two trips to the NCAA tourney and a third invite all but certain to happen this season.

As freshmen, they were part of a team which went all the way to the Elite Eight.

The one thing Stone and Co. hadn’t done was win a conference title. While they won the NWC postseason tourney as freshmen, the Blues had finished 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd in the regular season the past three seasons.

A big part of that was George Fox, who has been a thorn in their side.

Until now.

This time around, Whitman swept the season series from the Bruins, though the two teams could meet again in the postseason.

Friday night, the Blues were back at home at the Sherwood Athletic Center after completing a recent four-game road trip.

Whitman is undefeated on its home hardwood this season, and it looked like the matchup with George Fox would be a blowout in the early going.

Bolting out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter of play, the Blues were clicking, but, as always, the Bruins weren’t about to give up easily.

Battling back into the game, George Fox tied things up, before Stone nailed back-to-back jumpers to send Whitman into the halftime locker room with a narrower than expected 32-29 advantage.

The Blues have been a dominant second-half team this season, and Friday was one more well-written chapter in their book of success.

Stone slapped home a layup to give Whitman a 36-34 lead early in the third, and this time the Blues never gave the advantage back.

Having stretched the lead to 49-41 exiting the third quarter, the home town heroes slammed the gas pedal through the floorboards in the final frame, roaring to their eighth victory in as many games in front of their home fans.

Kaylie McCracken paced Whitman with 18 points, while Stone and Burdett each popped for 16.

To go along with her game-high 10 rebounds, the former Coupeville ace also collected three assists, two steals, and two blocked shots in 34 minutes of all-around excellence.

On the season, Stone has 348 points, 185 rebounds, 33 assists, 25 steals, and 20 blocks, and is shooting 142-266 (53.3%) from the field and 61-79 (77.2%) at the line.

The #5 scorer in Whitman women’s history, the CHS grad finished Friday with 1,275 career points.

Stone also hit all four of her free throw attempts against George Fox, with the final one being the 200th successful charity shot of her collegiate career.

She needs three rebounds on Senior Night to reach 800 (she’s #3 in program history), and 28 minutes of floor time to top 2,500 for her time at Whitman.

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